Dog School Northern Ireland

We offer an exciting opportunity to create a loving and trusting relationship between you and your canine companion. Our classes help you do this by making it positive and fun. Not only do we provide group training classes, we can assist if you would like individual help with a training issue.

Dogs of all shapes, sizes, breeds and ages are welcome to come along to Dog School Northern Ireland.

Our classes

Monday (50 mins)

16:00, 18:00 and 19:05

Duncairn Community Centre, BT15 2JZ

Tuesday (50 mins)

18:00 and 19:05

Farrenshane Community Centre, BT41 2RN

Thursday (50 mins)

16:00, 17:05, 18:10 and 19:15

Harryville Community Centre, BT42 3BL

Saturday (50 mins)

09:00, 10:05 and 11:10

Rathmore Young Farmers Hall, BT41 2QR

Tell us a bit more about you and your dog below

Your details

Full name

Address

Postcode

Email address *

Mobile phone number *

Phone number *

* We collect these details to enable us to contact you regarding your enquiry.

Particular access requirements for the owner

Dog details

Dog's name

Dog's gender

Breed

How long have you owned your dog?

Dog's age

Tick if your dog’s vaccinations are up to date

Tick if your dog is neutered

Tick if your dog has travelled outside the UK

Where did you get your dog from originally?

Other

What is the main reason that you would like to attend Dog School?

How did your hear about Dog School?

Behaviour with people

How does your dog react to new people you meet?

He / she moves away

Seems worried or cautious

Growls

Barks

Tries to play

Wags tail

Sits or stands calmly

Ignores them

Jumps up

Picks up a toy

Pulls towards them

Hides behind me

Tries to move away

From what distance does he or she start to react to people you meet?

Tick if behaviour occurs every time

Behaviour with dogs

How does your dog react when he or she meets other dogs?

He / she moves away

Seems worried or cautious

Growls

Barks

Tries to play

Wags tail

Sits or stands calmly

Ignores them

Jumps up

Picks up a toy

Pulls towards them

Hides behind me

Tries to move away

From what distance does this behaviour start?

Tick if behaviour occurs every time

Would you like us to keep in touch?

From time to time we would like to send you exciting updates about our work, products, services and how you can support us, including fundraising activities and research by post.

If you would prefer not to receive information by post please tick this box.

If you are happy to hear from us by email and/or phone please indicate below:

I'd like to receive emails

I'd like to receive calls on my preferred number below:

Dogs Trust Promise:

For over 50 years, we've promised to never put down a healthy dog. We keep our promises, and that includes treating your personal details with care.

Data Analysis:

In order to communicate with you more effectively, better understand your preferences and ability to support our work, we may analyse your data.

Data Sharing:

We also promise to only ever share your information with Dogs Trust Worldwide, Dogs Trust Ireland and Dogs Trust Promotions.

Policy:

For more information on this visit our privacy section.
You can opt out of communications or change your preferences at any time by phoning 020 7837 0006 or
email.

Get in touch

Trainers' profiles

Head coach

Lisa Doyle

Senior Coach

Sascha Cox

Coach

Sandra Park

Lisa is originally from County Wexford and is a graduate of Harper Adams University, where she gained her BSc degree in Animal Behaviour & Welfare. Following her graduation she moved to Ballymena where she started working for Dogs Trust as an Adoption Adviser, moving to Dog School shortly after.

Lisa has a dog called Fenton who is a 2 year old Collie/Akita mix that she adopted from Dogs Trust. Lisa is currently working towards her APDT membership to enhance her training skills. She plays camogie in her spare time and enjoys training and spending time with her dog.

Sascha is a graduate of Queens University Belfast where she undertook her Bachelors degree in Psychology and then her Masters degree in Animal Behaviour & Welfare. She has carried out research with Barbary Lions and trained Zebrafish using Positive Reinforcement Training. She also undertook a placement at Belfast Zoo where she shadowed Zookeepers to learn about animal husbandry in a zoo environment.

Sascha currently has one dog – a pound puppy called Bailey, whose breed is a mystery.

Sandra was originally a Canine Carer in the Ballymena rehoming centre where she worked for 13 years; she has taken many training courses during that time including Puppy training and Dog training.

Sandra has 4 dogs from Dogs Trust. Freddie a 3-year-old Cavalier/Bichon, Talia a 7-year-old long haired Chihuahua and Rupert who is a 2-year-old Yorkie/Poodle. Last year she fostered Humphrey, a 10-year-old Pekingese who has no knee joints in his back legs. She decided to keep Humphrey!

In her spare time she enjoys doing some fun training with her own dogs, she has completed her Gold, Silver & Bronze Good Citizens with several of them. A few months ago she took Rupert to the Dog School course and was so impressed with how fun and interactive it was – it inspired her to make the move to Team Purple!

Events

Connect with us

Follow us on Instagram

5 likes

Dogs Trust Dog School NI
Harley is having so much fun practicing her recalls with this fun food chase game!!hows your dogs recall?? For more help on this visit our website www.dogstrustdogschool.org.uk
#cockapoo #puppy #comeback #ballymena #dogschool #northernireland #puppyclass #puppytraining

32 likes

Dogs Trust Dog School NI
Dog School NI are delivering puppy and dog training classes at several locations. Head on over to our website for more information on these classes or if you would like to submit an enquiry for your furry friend! www.dogstrustdogschool.org.uk
#dogs #dogtrainer #dogtraining #dogprofessional #pawsome #puppyclass #puppiesofinstagram #dogsofinstagram #doggos #puppers #positivereinforcement #prt #treats #goldenretrieverpuppy #goldenretrieversofinstagram #teamwork

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FAQ

Anybody who is involved in the care of your dog is encouraged to come along to class, including children. Please bear in mind that your coaches will be talking to the class on a group level to teach you valuable key messages about behaviour, so it is important that anybody attending is able to listen quietly (if young children are attending it could be a good idea to bring something to keep them occupied with at these times). Let your coach know if you have any special requirements or will have more than 3 people attending with your dog, so that they can prepare and make sure there is enough space. To make sure you can concentrate on training your puppy, we would ask that you leave any other pets (including other dogs) at home.

Please bring the following to each class: your dog’s bed/blanket, a selection of your dog’s favourite treats and one or two of his/her favourite toys. If your dog requires any medication or has a specialised diet, please bring these to class – it’s also important to get in touch with your coach to let them know about this before the class as well.

We will try our best to make sure you see the same coaches each week for your classes, because we think it is important for us to get to know you and your puppy. The coaches work in teams of three, so you should get to know all the team members over your course. Occasionally there may be a change in one coach because of sickness or holidays, but if this is necessary, we will try to ensure that you are introduced to your new coach the week before the change so that they are familiar with you and your dog.

We aim to teach you to understand how your dog communicates and learns in a fun, interactive environment. We will support you in developing the skills needed to help them become happy, confident, well behaved canine citizens. We will achieve this through practical training and support for both you and your dog.

When you arrive to class we ask that you keep your distance from other owners and dogs, we will guide you over to your personal ‘pod’ which will be a small area reserved for you and your dog. This will give your dogs the best chance to feel comfortable and calm at the start of class. Once everyone has settled in their own areas your coach will start the class, there will be some time set aside for practical training and discussing key messages. In puppy classes there will also be some time scheduled for socialising with other class members.

At the end of class we will again ask that you keep your distance from other owners and dogs. We will guide you out of the class one at a time, please remember to keep your distance from the other students as you are leaving the building and returning to your cars.

Yes! Please feel free to contact your coach between classes if you would like further support or have any questions. The best way of getting in touch is via email so that your coach has the time to give your response their full attention. Your coach will advise you on the best course of action. They should be able to provide you with some basic advice that you can put in place straight away and may recommend a 1-1 session if you require more in depth behavioural or training support.

Dogs Trust recognise the need for affordable behavioural and training support in the community. We believe that Dog School will help raise awareness of dog behaviour, strengthen the bond between owners and their dogs and help to address and prevent the development of unwanted or problematic behaviours. We are hopeful that this service will improve the welfare of dogs in the UK, both by providing owners with support in the home environment and by reducing the number of dogs being relinquished for behavioural reasons.

Our training classes are aimed at giving you information and skills that you can apply to your puppy’s behaviour in any situation. If you have an existing issue that would require help with please contact your local coach and describe the problems you are having. It may be possible for us to help you in a class setting, or it may be that your coach will recommend a 1-1 session with a trainer or behaviourist. We will aim to give you the advice that we believe will be of the greatest benefit to you and your dog. In some cases, the class environment may not be the most suitable for your dog, in which case we will always strive to offer an alternative plan of action!

Please try to let your coach know as soon as possible if you are unable to attend a class. You will be provided with the training guide for the week you missed so that you can catch up at home. We are not able to offer replacement classes or refunds but will help you catch up in time for the following class. If you require help in understanding or practising the guide for the week you missed get in touch with your coach for advice.